1. Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit this play? Why do you believe the dramatic action would be best served in this venue? I believe that the thrust stage theater would serve How I Learned to Drive best. The stage thrusts out closer to the audience, making it seem more connected with what the audience is actually seeing, BUT it is not completely enveloped by the audience. They are still outsiders looking in on a memory. Thrust staging also can enhance the role of the background in How I Learned to Drive, and can separate the “artistic” additions from what Lil’ Bit actually remembers – the slideshow playing pinup photos, the music playing, and the other slideshows weren’t “real” for Lil’ Bit then, but they are how she sees it now.
Thrust staging also still has the benefits of proscenium staging in that a well-developed background can occur, there can still be scene “changes” because a background and stage wings are still available for use, and all of the audience gets the same “front on” perspective of the action. The action isn’t up for interpretation and doesn’t change based on seating like a rounded arena stage. This is supposed to be Lil Bit’s presentation of her own memory, not something that the audience really has a say in.
2. What are some of the design challenges posed by the play? One of the most evident design challenges of the play would be the minor time changes during Lil’ Bit’s childhood – like the physical differences between 1962 as compared with 1969 and 1970. These changes need to somehow mirror Lil Bit’s major personal changes and changing perspective on her relationship with Uncle Peck, but it would probably be hard to do without making the scene be stereotypical of the 60’s or 70’s. Another way to design this play would actually be to work with these difficulties and draw some comparison that while Lil Bit’s environment and home doesn’t change in their physical appearances or their perceptions, she actually grows and changes an enormous amount. Another design challenge would be the car itself, because a designer would have to find the right in-between of something more than just two chairs on a stage, but still provide enough room for the audience to feel like they are peering in on Lil Bit’s experience and childhood. Having to try and “age up” Lil Bit would also be difficult depending on the actor who was chosen.
3. Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play? The Grandfather and Grandmother would both be dressed in MUCH older clothing, probably in a brown or yellow-brown color scheme. They are essentially representative of the old way of thinking and are the antithesis of the new ideas of the 60’s – women being able to be more than mothers and wives, open discussion about sex, and furthering your education with college. In some sort of way, they would need to appear out of their time, as if their clothing was somehow “sepia toned”. The Grandmother would need to constantly be “done up” for her husband, but I would not say that the Grandfather would need to be in a formal or put-together outfit. He is allowed to be sort of sloppy or even dopey, since he is essentially described as a misogynist who behaves like a teenager.
The mother would probably be dressed in clothing similar to what “contemporary” women would wear in the 1960s, rather than dressing a generation slightly older. The mother seems to act more like a friend to Lil’ Bit than a protective and aware parent. She talks about how she lost her own childhood by being a teen mother and not being helped by her parents, so she probably sees Lil’ Bit and lives through her teenage experience. The mother is well-meaning and agrees with the “new 60s ideals”, but is naïve and oblivious to what Lil’ Bit is actually going through. The costuming would still need to reflect someone of lower class, so I would go against any pop-color 1960s clothing. The “teen greek choruses”, however, would be direct 1960s fashions and probably the “upper class” equivalents.
4. Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play? I think that minimal lighting would be useful for most of the scenes with Uncle Peck and Lil Bit, as most of their drives take place in a car and in the late afternoon or even at night. I also think less light emphasizes the secrecy that both take in order to control their situation and avoid any public scrutiny with the “relationship” they are in. This lighting could also be warmer than others, only because Lil' Bit and Peck feel close together. I think minimal lighting could even work for the photography scene as well, with more of an emphasis on the “flash” of the camera timed with slideshow movements. The play isn’t happy in any part of it, so I think that the light should either be minimal or “sterile” in some scenes – plain and bland almost like hospital lighting.
5. Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play. I think that the use of 1960s predatory music is definitely something I agree with keeping in the play, because it thematically fits well and it makes sense to have this music in the car when they drive. This is what is also popular on the radio at the time and would make sense. I think that no music should be added to the hotel meeting or “proposal” scene because it shouldn’t need any emotional add-ons for the audience to grasp what is happening. It is raw and driven by emotion, and I think that music would make it seem less realistic and detract from the significance of it. The audience should take the full weight of the words only and see the end of Lil Bit and Peck’s relationship for what she saw it as.
For the later scenes, as Lil’ Bit grows up, I would suggest some late 60s to early 70s soul music, sort of like the songs that reference Vietnam and the emotional turmoil of America at the time, but are clouded by just “being a good song”. It is the more emotionally taxing equivalent of the 1960’s pop songs, and it represents Lil Bit struggling internally and eventually coming to terms with her adulthood after the 70s.
I believe that the thrust stage theater would serve How I Learned to Drive best. The stage thrusts out closer to the audience, making it seem more connected with what the audience is actually seeing, BUT it is not completely enveloped by the audience. They are still outsiders looking in on a memory. Thrust staging also can enhance the role of the background in How I Learned to Drive, and can separate the “artistic” additions from what Lil’ Bit actually remembers – the slideshow playing pinup photos, the music playing, and the other slideshows weren’t “real” for Lil’ Bit then, but they are how she sees it now.
Thrust staging also still has the benefits of proscenium staging in that a well-developed background can occur, there can still be scene “changes” because a background and stage wings are still available for use, and all of the audience gets the same “front on” perspective of the action. The action isn’t up for interpretation and doesn’t change based on seating like a rounded arena stage. This is supposed to be Lil Bit’s presentation of her own memory, not something that the audience really has a say in.
2. What are some of the design challenges posed by the play?
One of the most evident design challenges of the play would be the minor time changes during Lil’ Bit’s childhood – like the physical differences between 1962 as compared with 1969 and 1970. These changes need to somehow mirror Lil Bit’s major personal changes and changing perspective on her relationship with Uncle Peck, but it would probably be hard to do without making the scene be stereotypical of the 60’s or 70’s. Another way to design this play would actually be to work with these difficulties and draw some comparison that while Lil Bit’s environment and home doesn’t change in their physical appearances or their perceptions, she actually grows and changes an enormous amount.
Another design challenge would be the car itself, because a designer would have to find the right in-between of something more than just two chairs on a stage, but still provide enough room for the audience to feel like they are peering in on Lil Bit’s experience and childhood. Having to try and “age up” Lil Bit would also be difficult depending on the actor who was chosen.
3. Choose the various chorus characters and discuss how you see them dressed. In what ways do you think the costumes you describe would help articulate their purpose in this play?
The Grandfather and Grandmother would both be dressed in MUCH older clothing, probably in a brown or yellow-brown color scheme. They are essentially representative of the old way of thinking and are the antithesis of the new ideas of the 60’s – women being able to be more than mothers and wives, open discussion about sex, and furthering your education with college. In some sort of way, they would need to appear out of their time, as if their clothing was somehow “sepia toned”. The Grandmother would need to constantly be “done up” for her husband, but I would not say that the Grandfather would need to be in a formal or put-together outfit. He is allowed to be sort of sloppy or even dopey, since he is essentially described as a misogynist who behaves like a teenager.
The mother would probably be dressed in clothing similar to what “contemporary” women would wear in the 1960s, rather than dressing a generation slightly older. The mother seems to act more like a friend to Lil’ Bit than a protective and aware parent. She talks about how she lost her own childhood by being a teen mother and not being helped by her parents, so she probably sees Lil’ Bit and lives through her teenage experience. The mother is well-meaning and agrees with the “new 60s ideals”, but is naïve and oblivious to what Lil’ Bit is actually going through. The costuming would still need to reflect someone of lower class, so I would go against any pop-color 1960s clothing. The “teen greek choruses”, however, would be direct 1960s fashions and probably the “upper class” equivalents.
4. Provide some ideas about the use of light in the play?
I think that minimal lighting would be useful for most of the scenes with Uncle Peck and Lil Bit, as most of their drives take place in a car and in the late afternoon or even at night. I also think less light emphasizes the secrecy that both take in order to control their situation and avoid any public scrutiny with the “relationship” they are in. This lighting could also be warmer than others, only because Lil' Bit and Peck feel close together. I think minimal lighting could even work for the photography scene as well, with more of an emphasis on the “flash” of the camera timed with slideshow movements. The play isn’t happy in any part of it, so I think that the light should either be minimal or “sterile” in some scenes – plain and bland almost like hospital lighting.
5. Suggest music and sound effects that could help accentuate the mood or atmosphere of the play.
I think that the use of 1960s predatory music is definitely something I agree with keeping in the play, because it thematically fits well and it makes sense to have this music in the car when they drive. This is what is also popular on the radio at the time and would make sense. I think that no music should be added to the hotel meeting or “proposal” scene because it shouldn’t need any emotional add-ons for the audience to grasp what is happening. It is raw and driven by emotion, and I think that music would make it seem less realistic and detract from the significance of it. The audience should take the full weight of the words only and see the end of Lil Bit and Peck’s relationship for what she saw it as.
For the later scenes, as Lil’ Bit grows up, I would suggest some late 60s to early 70s soul music, sort of like the songs that reference Vietnam and the emotional turmoil of America at the time, but are clouded by just “being a good song”. It is the more emotionally taxing equivalent of the 1960’s pop songs, and it represents Lil Bit struggling internally and eventually coming to terms with her adulthood after the 70s.